doctors surgeries

welshbookworm

At my last doctors I rang to explain that my 7 year old son was vomiting and had a high temperature. I was told that I had to bring him to the surgery. When we got to the reception desk my son vomited all over the floor and the SAME receptionist yelled at me that I shouldn't bring a vomiting child into the surgery! I reminded her that it was SHE that had insisted that I bring him in, she tried to deny it! My son threw up twice more before we were seen by the Doctor and his first question was 'Why did I bring my son to the surgery when he was vomiting?????'
Yes I did change Doctors within a week!

Froglet

Pity he didn't do it over her as well!

You probably would have been thrown out though!

With every post i am appreciating my health centre more and more.

katejo

i have just heard that my practice is about to abolish all advance appointments. Apparently this is because so many people fail to turn up so they have decided not to trust our memories any longer. It will only be possible to ring on the day. This is completely incompatible with working people who need to leave early for work and need advance permission for time off to attend an appointment.

Torry_Quine

katejo wrote: »

i have just heard that my practice is about to abolish all advance appointments. Apparently this is because so many people fail to turn up so they have decided not to trust our memories any longer. It will only be possible to ring on the day. This is completely incompatible with working people who need to leave early for work and need advance permission for time off to attend an appointment.

That's terrible. I sleep poorly and having to set my alarm to be awake to phone the doctor is not good for me. I would be complaining about that.

Azari

katejo wrote: »

i have just heard that my practice is about to abolish all advance appointments. Apparently this is because so many people fail to turn up so they have decided not to trust our memories any longer. It will only be possible to ring on the day. This is completely incompatible with working people who need to leave early for work and need advance permission for time off to attend an appointment.

Our practice did that some years ago (although they did have a few appointments that could be pre-booked to help those with problems making appointments on the day). It ran that way for a couple of years and then reverted to normal.

I think they should make the ability to make advance appointments a privilege that you lose if you fail to keep so many appointments over a certain period. So, for example, if you miss two appointments in a twelve month period you will be limited to making an appointment on the day for a while.

thegirlintheattic

Mine is usually fantastic. Can usually get an appointment on the day. Was a bit pee'ed off recently as I booked in a week early to see the nurse and told them what it was for, turned up on the day (when we saw several inches of snow), waited for 20 mins, only to be told the nurse wasn't trained to do the test so I'd have to rebook. arr

katejo

Azari wrote: »

Our practice did that some years ago (although they did have a few appointments that could be pre-booked to help those with problems making appointments on the day). It ran that way for a couple of years and then reverted to normal.

I think they should make the ability to make advance appointments a privilege that you lose if you fail to keep so many appointments over a certain period. So, for example, if you miss two appointments in a twelve month period you will be limited to making an appointment on the day for a while.

I just wish that they had an efficient online booking system. one does exist in theory but it is useless. it just gives a message which says something like "No appointments available. contact the surgery if you need one.". Either they are available or they're not
. anyway they are scrapping it for the same day system. I have heard from others that this results in a logjammed phone line and then you are told that there are no appointments left.

sillygoose

katejo wrote: »

I just wish that they had an efficient online booking system. one does exist in theory but it is useless. it just gives a message which says something like "No appointments available. contact the surgery if you need one.". Either they are available or they're not
. anyway they are scrapping it for the same day system. I have heard from others that this results in a logjammed phone line and then you are told that there are no appointments left.

Yes. My surgery has an online booking system but it only works for appointments long in the future, no wonder so many people don't turn up... with a months wait you probably just got better or died by then!

There should be a dynamic online booking system, it should send out a reminder text 2 hours before your appointment and if you don't reply within the next hour that you will be there for sure it should automatically cancel you.

Lets face within about first 3 patients most doctors apointments are running late so if a few people get auto cancelled the ones already stacked up waiting move up and get seen 10 minutes sooner.

Dave_C_2

sillygoose wrote: »

There should be a dynamic online booking system, it should send out a reminder text 2 hours before your appointment and if you don't reply within the next hour that you will be there for sure it should automatically cancel you.

And for those people who don't use mobile phones are rarely if ever on-line what happens?

Picking a demographic at random to match these conditions, lets say older people with failing eyesight. This just happens to be the people who are the most likely to need a doctor.

Dave

This_Year

At my GP surgery, if we want to see a specific doctor, it may be next week or at a different surgery (3 surgery practice) or if we are happy to see any GP we can generally get in within 48 hours.

Same day appointments are available if you phone at 8:15 and 2:00 but you then get to sit with an A4 large bright yellow card saying emergency appointment until you're called in, which you hand to the GP. This is so the GP can assess if you needed an emergency appointment and note your file accordingly. Most of these cards are then put in the magazine rack, which is empty of magazines due to "infection risk".

Luckily we have a walk-in centre near us, which does blood tests etc, and if you go when they open at 7am you are usually out by 7:15, which is good if you're working.